Lullaby
by BlueLLama9
Summary: Marriage sometimes leads to babies. Babies sometimes cry. When Sasuke's voice becomes the only thing that can soothe his and Sakura's son, some singing has to be done.


Little children are considered adorable by most people. Their tiny bodies and innocence softening the harshest of expressions. The situation was no different for Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha, at least, most of the time. Right now, in the middle of the night, the impossibly loud crying coming out of the little angel the Uchiha spouses lovingly named Itachi made him anything but cute.

Sakura and Sasuke took turns walking around the dark room holding the baby, attempting to feed him, change his diaper and rock him back and forth. After around thirty minutes of nonstop crying, desperation and irritation hung heavily in the air.

"We could try the bottle again." said Sakura, desperately looking around for inspiration.

"We did. Six times."

"Well, heat it up some more and try it again."

Sasuke glared at her, feeling exhausted from the mission he had come home from just three hours ago. He always knew a child would be no easy task, but he figured he could handle a bit of crying every few hours so long as it was only for a short time. This, however, was unbearable.

After another ten minutes of trying and failing and angrily whispering between each other, Sasuke snapped.

"Look, Sakura, we've read the damn books and prepared and now we've tried everything I could possibly think of at least three times so can you please stop asking me what to do because I am not qualified to answer."

That was certainly the most passionate and long speech Sasuke had ever given, and while exchanging a look with his wife, he noticed things suddenly got very quiet.

Sakura's eyes widened, relief overwhelming her. Silence had never sounded better. Before she could enjoy it fully, though, the crying started again.

"Sasuke-kun, sing to him."

"What?" Sasuke, asked, somewhat confused.

"Your voice stopped him from crying so sing!"

The incredulous look on Sasuke's face would have made Sakura laugh, had the headache caused by continuous crying not completely murdered her sense of humour. She gently handed Sasuke their son, and knowing he would probably be even more uncomfortable if she stayed in the room, she quickly ran into their bedroom, not giving Sasuke a chance to reject her proposal.

Left with no choice but to go with his wife's annoying suggestion, Sasuke started singing in a voice that sounded like someone was pointing a kunai at his throat. Walking back and forth in front of the wooden crib, his voice was soon the only thing filling the room.

A lullaby was softly escaping his lips, the lyrics familiar to Sasuke, having heard it many times as a child. The irritation was almost gone now, little Itachi staring up at him with his mothers eyes, looking amazed and happy. Before Sasuke had even realized it, he was smiling down at his son, the words of the lullaby being repeated for the second time, as Itachi's eyes were closing slowly and his breathing getting more even.

The baby was asleep by the time Sasuke had sung for the second time, but just to make sure, the lullaby was repeated three more times before Itachi was finally put back in his crib.

Sakura, in the other room, was sitting on the floor with her back and head pressed against the wall, her eyes closed as she focused on her husband's voice. Her chest hurt a little at realization that Sasuke probably learned the song from his mother, but all she could hear in his voice was calm and content.

As Sasuke walked into their bedroom, he looked down at her and the tips of his ears reddened a little. He lturned his head away from Sakura as she smiled up at him. Not meeting her eyes, he extended his hand and pulled her up. She gave his fingers a little squeeze before letting go, as a way of reassuring him that she was going to be there no matter what.

He walked past her, throwing himself on his side of the bed, back turned to his wife, and he laid there not making a sound.

Sakura joined him, and knowing how much Sasuke needed silence and to be left alone sometimes, she simply closed her eyes and gave him the space he needed. She could tell that even after all these years, Sasuke still felt the ache of not having his family around anymore. Grief, after all, had no expiration date. So she squeezed his hand and held him tightly when he needed comfort, and she gave him peace and quiet when that wouldn't be enough.

As always, though, after a while, his arms were gently sliding around her body, pulling her closer. Their relationship had never been easy. Even when it was at its best their tempers and opinions could clash at any moment, but feeling Sasuke's breath on her neck, and having Sakura's bright, sleepy eyes to wake up to every morning was enough for both of them.


End file.
